Long Slow Whiper
by t1m3fr3ak
Summary: Last Front Lore. After the death of Cayde-6, the City needed a new Hunter Vanguard. After a Guardian is chosen for the task he finds that there is no one else that is worthy enough to fill the boots of Cayde-6. After going AWOL and stealing the body of the deceased Vanguard, the guardian must find a way to resurrect his deceased friend.
1. The Vanguard Dare

**Cayde-6: Okay, so seeing that I'm the main focus of this new story I'll take it upon myself in doing the liberty of saying the disclaimer of this story.**

 **Eleven: You? Taking the liberty to do something, who the heck are you and what have you done to my vanguard?**

 **Cayde-6: Shush it El, you're not supposed to talk to me until the end of the book. Anyways t1m3fr3ak does not own Destiny. It belongs to its rightful creators Bungie**

 **T1m3fr3ak: thanks Cayde, good to have you back. So some of you might wonder what this is about so let me clarify the plot and meaning of this for y'all. In the Last Front Cayde is present and it is 100 years after the Red War and he died in Forsaken (we said that we would riot Bungie!) so I've made this lore based story to explain how he is alive.**

 **So without further ado…**

 _T1m3fr3ak_

* * *

 _Presents_

* * *

 _Long-Slow-Whisper_

* * *

 **20 years ago**

 **The Tower, Last City…**

"He had the worst jokes," said Ikora, "Even worse timing."

My head hung low that moment. I had lost a good friend, no, a great friend. I looked at a golden decorated burial cloth that covered my best friend's body, Cayde-6. I was with him in his final moments, I held his hand as he chuckled and coughed his life away joking about worthless things like how his hair looks. I mean, how can he be talking about that when he's dying, he doesn't even have any hair for God sake.

"I wanted to laugh. I really did," said Ikora

I felt my eyes becoming wet. I wiped the sleeve of my right arm against my eyes. When I looked at my sleeve, I saw a trail of water visible on my sleeve, I haven't cried in 462 years since Deanna died along with the rest of my brethren in the Iron Banner.

"We should've been there," she said walking up to his body placing her hands upon it, "This is not your fault. This … is on the head of Uldren Sov. But if he thinks what he's done is the end, it's not. It's the beginning,"

Her tone suddenly gotten very hostile. Tears started to well up in her eyes, her hands clenched into fists glowing slightly with the power of the void.

"We're going to fight him," she said turning to Zavala who hasn't said a word since he heard the news of Cayde's death, "Do you hear me? All of us. Every Titan. Every Warlock. Every Hunter. We will take the Reef by storm!"

I have never seen Ikora this torn up over anyone since Osiris left the City. I don't know what she and Cayde had, but it must have been something to get her to act like this.

"And then we will mount the head of that son of a bitch on his precious throne."

Yep! Definitely had something, she is PISSED! And pissed in all caps!

"For our fireteam… for Cayde," she said

The air was silent for a minute. Then Zavala finally spoke, "...No,"

I looked at him with utter shock in my eyes.

"What did you say?" demanded Ikora

"We are not an army. We are not conquerors. We are Guardians. We need to keep our eyes here, on our home. The people. The Traveler," said Zavala, "The Reef was lost the moment it lost its Queen. So if another Sov wants a stretch of lifeless rocks, let him have it."

"This is Cayde we're talking about. For us to do nothing is … is-" said Ikora

"Say it," demanded Zavala in a dark voice.

"Cowardice," hissed Ikora spitting the vile word out of her mouth like it was poison.

Zavala slowly walked around the urn he placed his hand gently on Cayde's chest, "I refuse to bury any more friends." he said gazing sadly into the dead eyes of our friend.

The air was silent once again, then something started to break inside of me, breaking away letting something that I buried away a long time ago, a demon, hungry for the taste of blood.

"Heh. heh, he. Heh, heh, he, ha, hahaha." I darkly chuckled as my laughter started to grow into a loud roar. The remaining Vanguard started at me with shock in their eyes. When I neared the end of my dramatic laughing I stomped my foot on the floor so hard that it made Ikora and Zavala flinch.

"God! When push comes to shove you really are a coward Zavala!" I shouted with rage dripping from my tone.

"Guardian, stand dow-"

"NO!" I shouted, "You listen to me you giant smurf!" pointing violently at the titan.

"Excuse me?" he said

"What you are talking about right here is letting Cayde's killers get away with this!" I yelled, "Sundance's killers too if we're getting detailed here!"

"Guardian, please listen-" said Zavala

"MY NAME IS ELEVEN!" I screamed

"Eleven, we cannot just divert all of our forces to the Tangled Shore to hunt down the Prince of the Reef. We need to protect the city," said Zavala

"Yes, I know that we need to protect the city. But I'm pretty sure those big fucking guns are doing a pretty bang up job at keeping us safe you think!" I yelled

"Cayde would want us-"

"Cayde would want us to get out there, and clap that emo's ass into pudding! Not sit here and let them get away with it!" I yelled

"Guardian. I know how you must feel right now but-"

"NO! Shut up. Shut Up! SHUT UP!" I screamed at him as I marched over and slammed my palm into the Titan's throat pinned him against the wall, "You don't know how I feel! Not at fucking all! I was there in his final moments, I held his hand as his life slipped away! I listened to his last words Goddamn it!"

The room was deathly silent. The only thing that moved was the air being expelled from our lungs. Then the silence was broken.

"What did he say?" said Ikora

"What?" I growled

"What were his last words?" she clarified

I thought of that moment so clearly, trying my best to forget it but it would not leave my mind. "He told me to tell you both that, 'This was the best bet I've ever lost.'" I said

I could feel her sadness radiating off of her. Even Zavala became saddened at this news, "I am sorry Eleven." he said, "If you truly wish to have your justice from Cayde's killer's … then you will have to get it on your own." said Zavala

I stared him in the eye for a solid minute then turned to leave the room. "You know … I always looked up to the Vanguard as something to drive me forward in the thick of battle. That you were a courageous force that would never back down against the darkness. I guess I was wrong … Cayde was a true Vanguard, you're just a coward that hides behind a damn wall," I growled and stormed out of the room.

I returned to the Reef and tore through the Tangled Shore in the hunt for Uldren and his Scorn Barons. I allied myself with Petra Venj who was with Cayde and I when the Prison of Elders fell, and with a Fallen house of smugglers and their leader, _The Spider._ I tracked down each and every one of those cursed barons and put them down. _Reksis Vahn, Hiraks, Pirrha, Kaniks, Yaviks, Araskes, Elykris, and Fikrul._ Each and every one of them … dead. Tattooed on my arm once they were dead, each one crossed off the list. Then came Uldren, the one who pulled the trigger, the trigger of Cayde's own gun. That was the one thing that I couldn't stand the most. That Sov keeping Cayde's prized cannon as some sick trophy, using it for his own sick twisted agenda. Once I killed the last of the Barons, "Fikrul," I pursued Uldren into the Watchtower, and ancient awoken outpost built some time after their whole cell creation. Once I caught up to him, I found that I was already beaten to the kill. Uldren was swallowed whole by some meatball/servitor looking monster. Trust me on this here, this ugly son of a bitch was hard to take down, especially when I performed one of the rarest abilities a Hunter could acquire from the light, _Dual Gunslinger_. After I cracked that thing open, I found Uldren still alive and looking like he just walked the whole nine yards of hell. I approached him and picked up Cayde's Ace of Spades. I pressed my foot on his back pinning him down, preventing him from crawling farther away. He turned his head sideways trying to face me the best as he could while being pinned down on his stomach.

"Congratulations. You have my undivided attention. Now where's my sister?" he demanded

"Seriously, you're demanding shit when I have the barrel of a gun pressed to the back of your skull. Man, you've got some balls." I hissed

"She's not here Uldren," said Petra. I looked to my left and saw her marching her way across the destroyed room with her sidearm drawn and aimed at Uldren, "And if she was … this would be a whole lot easier."

The awoken prince chuckled darkly and tried to stand up only for me to shove him back down with the heel of my foot, "Stay down you fuck!" I snapped

"*grumbling* So, this is to be a reckoning?" spat Uldren

"Wait. Not like this," said Nine as he appeared in a shine of light, "Look at him-he's finished. Even with everything he's done, we can't just-"

"You have no idea what he's done!" snapped Petra, "If Cayde was here, I know what he would do, Guardian. Do you?"

"Yes. what would the notorious Cayde-6 do? You have his gun. Seems you get the last word." Uldren said

This time I take my foot off of his back. He takes this chance and struggles to stand up but only falls down, settling for a weak sitting position. "Everyth-" I cut him off when I wrap my hand around his throat cutting off his oxygen. I lift him off of the ground and bring him to eye level.

"Eleven? Eleven stop. Eleven!" Nine exclaimed into my ear as I ignored him

I brought Uldren closer to my face and whispered softly into his ear, "Never, say his name." I hurled him across the room causing him to land hard against the steps far from me. He let out a pained grunt and rolled to the bottom of the steps as I pursued him with the Ace of Spades still trained on him. He wiped some pale red blood from the corner of his mouth and growled.

"Everything I did, I did for her," he shouted. He leaned back and let out a barely audible laugh, "Funny. The line between Light and Dark is so very thin." he then turned to face me with a look of Malice upon his face, "Do you know which side you're on?"

This got me questioning my actions for a second. A memory of my past life, my first life, when I was mortal when I would let the cops do the hard work for humanity. Then a memory of Cayde talking to a guardian telling him that he was on the right side of the poker table and not the losing side, which could only mean that he was using his gambling life as an example of the Light and Darkness. I then looked back at Uldren and levelled the Ace of Spades again, pointed directly at his head. I nodded once and said, "I'm on the right side of this gun's barrel avenging a man that was murdered in cold blood. What end are you on?" I said trying my best to sound like Cayde.

Uldren either didn't understand my old western quote or accepted his fate and closed his eyes.

((((BANG))))

A while after I retrieved Cayde's Ace of Spades, I brought it to Banshee back at the Tower to get it fixed. I needed to complete a series of tasks to calibrate the gun grip for my hand. Then when the calibrations were complete, I looked at Cayde's Will to see if there was anything else that could help me fix the Ace of Spades. I brought the Will to Banshee and he told me of Cayde's secret stashes across the solar system which according to the Will I own by wright for killing Uldren. Once I collected all of Cayde's secret caches from the known locations and putting all of his journals together, they lead me straight to Titan.

When I opened the first cache a voice recording was triggered. It was Cayde, addressing his thoughts to the people that he thought would have killed him. First, it was Eris Morn. I found her's a bit of a gag since Cayde thought that she would have transformed into a Hive death god and feed him to her worm cult. Next was a Fallen douche named Taniks the scarred, telling him that killing Andal Brask wasn't enough for him and that he needed another Hunter Vanguard for his sick collection and how he hoped that he took a big piece of his ugly face with him. Next was to the Drifter, then to Petra Venj, to some people call _The Deep Stone Crypt,_ then to Suraya (why did she get the Colonel and not me, Nine is still fighting with me how he's not enough for me).

Then the one that got me the most intrigued was this one. Here, I have it recorded:

 _This one's for any Hunter who kills me. Best guess: Marcus Ren? You realize you get my stuff now? ALL my stuff. INCLUDING the Hunter Vanguard gig. Yeah, congra-tu-lations, dummy. That's what we call a Vanguard Dare. Sucks, doesn't it? OK, brace yourself for some advice, hotshot. One, know your people. Like, my Nessus scout, Quantis Rhee. I like to call her about once a moon, alse she gets a little too much Night, not enough Stalker, you know? Two, keep your weapon sharp. Your job's to watch everyone's back, which means no one's watching yours but you. And three, start thinking now about what you want to do for your successor's Vanguard Dare. Cause trust me, kid - this gig will kill ya._

The rest was just a blur to me. I have never really heard much of Marcus Ren except for his invention the St0mp-EE5 (or Stompeez for short). Once I got back to the Tower I asked Nine to do a full scan of all of the data logs and historical records on Marcus Ren as Keyword. Once Banshee assured me that the Ace of Spades was ready, Nine got a hit. Apparently, Marcus Ren was an undefeated Sparrow Racing League champion, and one of the most cockies hunters at that too. Even cockier than Cayde, no wonder he's Cayde's successor. Reports show that he just fell off the grind once he was beaten by a titan by the name of Enoch Bast. He was one of Marcus's best friends too.

I tracked the guardian down and asked him a few questions about Marcus and where he could've gone. "I don't know? Once I beat him … he just wasn't the same Marcus," said Enoch, "I don't understand, why are you so interested in Marcus. No one has wondered about Marcus since I beat him in that race. Is everything alright with him?"

I bowed my head at what I was about to say, "Enoch … have you been in touch with the Vanguard lately?" I asked him

"No, not really come to think about it, why?" he asked

"You've heard of Cayde-6?" I asked

"...um, yeah?" he said uneasily

"Well a few weeks ago, Cayde was killed in the Prison of Elders by Uldren Sov," I said

"What!" Enoch exclaimed

"Yes, Uldren is dead now and when I killed him I reclaimed this," I said unholstering Ace of Spades and twirling it in my hand.

"You got Cayde's gun!" he said

"Yes. By will and right, I've earned it, sadly," I said, "But putting that aside. In one of Cayde's voice recordings, he said that the Hunter that he thought would kill him would be Marcus Ren." I said

"Wow, Cayde must have had a lot of faith in Marc," said Enoch

"I guess so. And after he said that, he said that Marcus would get all of his stuff, including his spot in the Vanguard," I said

"Huh? What do you mean?" he asked

"I mean that Marcus took the Vanguard Dare," I said

"WHAT!" he said, "Traveler almighty, I didn't know that he was the new Vanguard now!" said Enoch

"Well I don't think that Marcus knows either," I said

"Huh?"

"The Hunter Vanguard position is still empty, and I need to find Marcus, do you have any idea where he might be?" I asked

There was a long silence between us. I honestly hope that he knows where Marcus is, and what I really hope for is that he's still alive. After five whole minutes of silence, Enoch broke it when he answered, "I might know where he is, and promise me that you'll bring him back." he said

"I promise to the best of my ability," I said and stood up and received the location of Marcus's last known location.

 **Mars**

 **Campus Martius Track…**

As I broke the atmosphere of Mars, I headed to the location that Enoch gave me. The track was abandoned. SRL banners scattered and buried beneath the red sand and bleachers collapsed. I looked around for Marcus Ren.

"Nine, you got anything?" I asked him, "Signs of his ghost or his vitals?" I asked

"Not at the momen - wait, guardian distress signal has just been received. 20 clicks north. Location … Firebase Delphi, I thought that place was abandoned and turned into an arena for the crucible?" said Nine

"Nine, patch me onto Lord Shaxx. In the meantime we need to get to that base," I said

I got a running start past the finish line and summoned my sparrow racing off through the red barren landscape. The horns blew loud when I passed it, gaining me a slight smile I always did like sound effects going into battle.

When I got there I saw that there were Cabal Thrashers and troop ships surrounding the base. From the markings on the ships and the design of the armour, Dust Giants regalia. I upped the juice in my sparrow and crashed into a Cabal Legionary that just touched down. When the rest of the Cabal saw their comrade fall to a sparrow collision they were not very happy. The commanding Colossus turned back to kill me but I lunged at him and stuccered up his body and locked my legs around his neck, unsheathed my knife and buried it in its massive throat. I hoped down as the Colossus fell to the ground bleeding out. I looked at the surrounding Cabal and unholstered both Cayde's Ace of Spades and my Ace of Spades.

"So fellas … who's to die first?" I asked menacingly

The Legionaries and Phalanx aimed their slug rifles at me. I smirked at their response, "I was hoping Y'all say that."

I dashed for them as they unloaded their magazines on me. I rolled under the rounds, feeling them whirl close to my back, some of them tearing through my cloak. I spun my spades horizontally as I fired them with Momento Mori enabled at the Cabal's kneecaps. I could hear the bullets ripping through the heavy armour that covered the Cabals' person then through their thick flesh and bone. They fell to the ground grasping their knees as blue blood poured out. I spun around to face them on the ball of my heel and shot them all in the back of the head.

 **BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!**

They all fell on their faces and the red sand kicked up as they hit the ground. I twirled the spades in my hands and jolted them outward making them open causing the empty magazines to fall to the ground. I dragged the guns against the sides of my belt unclipping two more magazines into the chamber then throwing my arms to my sides snapping the chambers shut then cocking the hammers, proceeding my way into the base.

"Ah, Guardian," said Lord Shaxx

"Eleven," I said in an annoyed tone. Seriously why can't that title stick? I was in the Battle of Six Fronts for God sake!

"Ah, Guardian Eleven, how are you?" said the head of the Crucible

"Shaxx! Can you tell me anything recent about one of your Crucible arenas, specifically _'FireBase Delphi.'"_ I said

"FireBase Delphi. Dear Traveler, that place was retaken by the Cabal days ago, I lost fifteen red jacks to those space rhinos, why do you ask?" he askes

"I'm here right now tracking down the new Hunter Vanguard, Marcus Ren, and I tracked him down to here," I said

"By God, you're not serious are you?" exclaimed Shaxx

"I'm afraid I'm not. Is it possible if you can send some backup?" I asked, "Maybe some insight that you've gained by manning this place for years?"

"Sorry, Guardian. But you are on your own. Zavala has restricted all red jack deployment, and I have gained no insight into that base in all of my years hosting crucible fights there, I'm sorry but you're on your own," said Shaxx as he cut off the channel

"Great, just fucking great." I said, "Looks like it's just me and you buddy," I said to Nine

"Seems that way," Nine said as he appeared in a bright flash

We trekked our way through the base running into multiple dispatches of Cabal squadrons disposing of them easily. After I fired the last round in my magazine driving its way through the skull of a weak Psion trying to escape my wrath. As it fell to the cold floor, the complex was silent. Nine appeared again and his parts split apart revealing his single eye and the light that flowed within him. He was doing a deep scan of the place searching for Marcus Ren. He came up with two vitals pulsing from deep under us.

"You got something?" I asked as he retracted his parts

"Yes, two vitals underneath us. One is a guardian, and the other one is Cabal," said Nine

"Who's winning?" I asked

"Not Marcus. I can feel his ghost's light and it's fading, fast," said Nine

"Alright, what's the fastest way down there?" I asked

"Um, through three corridors. Left, right, left. And down an elevator shaft that has horrible taste in music," said Nine

"Okay, screw that. Nine … Gjallarhorn me," I said soon feeling the legendary rocket launcher materialize on my back. I holster my Spades and unclip it from my back and loaded a rocket round into the pipe thingy (I never did really understand rocket launcher components that well) and jumped up and boosted myself against the wall and them launched myself to the ceiling then rocketed down to the floor firing off two rockets blowing a hole in the floor.

As I rocketed through the Gjalla-made-hole-horn. I could see the faint outline of two figures coming into the light. One was human that was dressed in an extremely tight spandex suit with armour plating it (too much ass), and had long caked jet black hair, tanned skin, and had a Chinese look to him. The other was definitely identified as Cabal. Twin rocket motors attached to its shoulders, dressed in Red Legion regalia, and had his wrist blade ejected ready to strike. They both looked up seeing my person bursting through the ceiling yelling the dumbest battle cry in existence.

"YIPE KI YA MOTHER FUCKERS!" I yelled

And let the power of Sol consume by person and a Golden Gun shined into existence in my hand. I let the barrel of the flaming pistol train its sights on the Cabal commander barking off three flaming rounds through its head. The Cabal soon disintegrating into a flurry of embers as its final roars echoed through the halls of this base forever haunting it. I landed perfectly on my feet probably looking like something out of an anime. I looked up at Marcus Ren looking like the picture of hell.

"Oh no," said Nine floating over to Marcus, "We're too late,"

He was dead, ripped apart. There was a huge hole in his abdomen revealing his internal organs. I walked over to him and looked him over, "Well then … who's going to be the next Hunter Vanguard now?" I asked Nine. We were both at a statement, not knowing what to say. The silence was soon broken by the raspy coughing from the corpse of Marcus Ren.

"He's alive?" I said in disbelief

I lung down to my knee and look at the poor racer. I could see his heart beat, each beat a disgusting experience forcing me to fix him up faster. His eyes start to open slightly adjusting to the light source then falling upon me and Nine.

"W-who are y-you?" he asks

"I'm Guardian Eleven, and this is my ghost Nine," I say

"Sup," said Nine

"Wh-why are you here? I made sure that nobody would find me after I lost," said Marcus

"Well the Cabal found you, didn't do such a good job at hiding from them did you?" said Nine

"Nine," I said, "Well, we needed to find you because of a dare that to took up with Cayde," I said

"Huh? What about Cayde?" said Marcus weakly

"We're losing him," said Nine

"Please tell me you can heal him," I asked

"I can't, only a guardian's ghost can heal them. Other ghosts can only help their ghost resurrect guardians. Marcus Ren, where is your ghost?" asked Nine

The mutilated racer raised his arm shakily pointing to a section on the floor where a collection of shining red ghost parts littered the floor.

"Didi went to heal me but that bastard Cabal crushed her before she could heal me," said Marcus

"Fucking Cabal," I said

"S-so. What happened to Cayde?" he asked

"Cayde's dead," I said

"No," said Marcus, his heart beating quicker now

"Eleven, we need to get him out of here now!" shouted Nine

"Okay, Nine, lock onto us for transmat, we're bringing him to the city," I said

Soon our physical matter was scattered and reassembled on my ship, the _Raz Gnev._ An old Deep Stone Crypt battle fighter with some personal modifications of my own that should be very well be classified as illegal in the Last City. Once he was on board I put the _Raz Gnev_ into full warp speed. We broke Mars atmosphere instantly and flew off into warp speed. When we entered Earth's atmosphere Nine transmatted us to the courtyard of the new tower. When we fully materialized, Marcus's condition had worsened. His heartbeat has gotten slower, parts of his opened up body have started to rapidly develop pus and his skin was pale and cold to the touch due to so much blood loss.

"Hang in there Ren, we'll get you all patched up and in Cayde's duds in no time," I said lying, knowing that he's good as dead.

"No," he said weakly, "I can't … it hurts too much," he said

"Then I'll carry by," I said

There was a long silence in the air, I looked to my side an saw that everyone in the courtyard has gathered around us to see Marcus dying

"Do … y-you, accept," he said slowly with shallow breathing so low that his chest doesn't even rise.

"What?" I said trying to hear him properly, "HEY! All's ya gives us some space will's ya, a guy's dyin' here!" I yelled at the surrounding guardians causing them to back up.

"Do you accept?" asked Marcus again

"What? What do you mean by accepting?" I asked

"Do you accept the dare?" he asked

"What dare? Oh, oh no, no, hell no!" I said

"Eleven, the Hunters need a leader, and you're the only one I can see as a great Hunter Vanguard," said Marcus

"Pft me! Hell no, what about Shiro, Shiro! Get your ass down here!" I yelled out to the crowd

"The Iron Banner isn't here yet fool," said a guardian in the crowd

"You shove it! Are you serious dude, I'm hardly a leader, much less a Hunter Vanguard," I said

"I-I-I said … do, you … accept?" he said using every bit of hostility left in him.

There was a long silence in the air. Marcus's life was leaving his body quickly, I needed to make a decision fast.

" **What'da say Nine, thinking of becoming Hunter Vanguard will get the name Eleven to stick?"** I asked Nine mentally

" **I think you would be a great Hunter Vanguard, but just to let you know that at the beginning of every Vanguard Dare leads to a long phase of drinking and depression, are you really ready for that again?"** he asked

" **Heh, what else is new?"** I quoted

"I accept," I said

"Congratulations … you lose…" he said as his final breath left his lungs. His eyes stared up to the sky watching the birds fly elegantly through the afternoon sky. I felt my cloak melting away and being replaced with another. Something foreign to me. I turned my head to see what has replaced my Dead Zone Mantle. An audible gasp escaped my lips as did some tears flow from my eyes. I saw Cayde's cloak hang from my shoulders

" _If you learn nothing else, learn this: when a Hunter takes up the cloak of a dead comrade, this is a vow."_ said the echo of Andal teaching me a valuable lesson when I was just turning ten years old for a guardian.

" _Sorry man,"_ said a familiar voice. I looked up still holding Marcus's body. I saw the ghosts of Andal Brask, Cayde-6, and Marcus Ren. they looked down at me with eyes of pity.

" _Ya had a good run there Marc,"_ said Cayde

" _Yea, I guess that in the end I just wasn't fast enough,"_ said Marcus

" _We should get going, the ghosts will eventually see us,"_ said Andal

"Cayde?" I murmured

" _Don't worry Eleven, you got this, you truly got this. Also, could you pay all of my debts too please, if not Coronel is going to probably end up on a silver platter, yea, thanks,"_ said Cayde

"What?" I mumbled

" _See you starside Hunter."_ and with that said, the three of them faded away.

I stayed there for a good three minutes, staring out into the vast landscape outside of the wall, wishing … hoping that Cayde's ghost would come back. "Excuse me, pardon," said the voice of Zavala pushing his way through the crowd of guardians and Tower maintenance workers. As he finally got to the other side, he saw my person cradling the body of Marcus Ren in my arms.

"What the-"

"Guardian, what has happened?" said the voice of Ikora

"I'm the new Hunter Vanguard," I said under my breath barely audible.

"Guardian? What did you just say-" said Zavala before I cut him off

"MY NAME IS GUARDIAN ELEVEN!" I screamed in a hoarse voice. I rose to my feet and turned to face the Titan Vanguard and Warlock Vanguard. Cayde's cloak flapped furiously in the wind. Nine dematerialized my helmet revealing my face to the present population of the Tower. I have seen my reflection before, but ever since my wife's death 462 years ago I haven't taken off my helmet once, too ashamed to see the face that failed to save her. I saw the reflection in Zavala's shining armour, I stepped back a bit startled by what I have become. I had dark bags forming underneath my eyes due to extreme lack of sleep, my sandy blond hair has since grown out into a horrendous mess, my once clean-shaven face has grown out into a scruffy mess, and my skin once a pale tan has turned into a pale white colour. I stared at the crowd of guardians, Tower maintenance workers and the Vanguard.

"My. Name, is Guardian Eleven. Once known as Iron Lord Windsor. I am now …" it took me a while to work the sentence into my mouth, feeling unworthy to say such a title to describe myself.

"I am now … your new Hunter Vanguard." I said

 **Well then, this is how Guardian Eleven became the new hunter Vanguard. Yes, I know Destiny Fans are going to be complaining that Shiro 4 should be the new Hunter Vanguard but remember that this is a Destiny universe where the realm of Adventure Time exists side by side. And just to make one thing clear, there will be no crossovers in this novella, I am planning on only making this story short, probably only five or six chapters at most. I hope you like it**

 **So as always. Let your imagination go wild, long may your big jib draw, and don't beat your sibling's door with a cucumber.**

 **T1m3fr3ak OUT!**

 **PLEASE REVIEW**


	2. The City

**Cayde-6: Okay, here we go again, so t1m3fr3ak does not own Destiny. It belongs to its rightful creators Bungie, and ME!**

 **T1m3fr3ak: thank you Cayde, now on to the chapter, yahoo!**

 **Chapter 2: The City**

 **The Tower, Hangar**

Ikora was making her way to the Hangar to check up on the new Hunter Vanguard. He seemed pretty shaken up when he revealed his face and announced that he was the Hunters' new Vanguard. She entered the large area and looked around.

She saw workers talking amongst each other about personal events, the latest Crucible match, or news that snake about the City. she saw Amanda Holliday shouting at a new Tower worker while he was tweaking the warp drive of the dismantled ship that always seemed to be broken hanging over Cayde's set up. And then there was … wait, where was the new Hunter Vanguard?

Ikora was greatly confused by this, the makeshift map room was vacant of all life, except for Cayde's faithful pet chicken, The Colonel. She was pecking away at the ground looking for leftover seeds. Or whatever Cayde feed her.

She walked up to the setup and looked around. There were various Hunter helmets tucked into numerous spots in the booth. Next were golden goblets scattered across the desk. Mounted on the wall was a map of the Cosmodrome and in specific spots (o as specific as Cayde could've got) were Hunter knives stabbed into the map. Then she saw a glow come from a drawer. She looked down at the glow's origin and opened it up and what she found greatly confused her beyond explanation, it was a glowing artichoke, and it was resonating Ascendant energy.

"What the-"

She was cut off by the cry of the Colonel startling her. "Good Traveler, where did Cayde even find you?" she asked the Colonel knowing that she would receive no response.

"Cayde found that bag of feathers during the attack to take back the City," said a southern voice behind her.

Ikora spun around on the ball of her heel to see the shipwright of the Tower Hangar, Amanda Holliday. "Amanda. It is good to see you, you are just the person that I needed to see, have you-"

"Seen Cayde's/Marcus's new heir," said Amanda with a chuckle.

"Yes, do you-"

"Know where he is," said Amanda cutting off the Warlock Vanguard again, "Yep, up in his new room," she said pointing up to the top door above the never fixed ship.

"Isn't that-" said Ikora being cut off again

"Cayde's room, yep. He set up shop in there before he went out for the night. Said that he'd be late for the first days of the job so he moved quarters." said Amanda

"Why would he be late?" asked Ikora

"Have you seen the mug on that man? Jesus, I'd be late for the first few days of a new job if I looked like that, and besides … he's earned his rest." Amanda said

"I'm not sure I follow," said Ikora craning her head looking like a confused puppy.

"I asked him why he looks like hell and he told me that he hasn't slept for 462 years, and alongside that he's been there for every major threat that posed against the City," said Amanda

"He hasn't slept in how long? My goodness," said Ikora feeling shame for the Hunter.

It is true that Guardians don't require much sleep as mortals do. When reborn in the Light their genetic code is altered to it physical peak permanently, making them immune to hunger, fatigue, illness, and the rest of the human limits. Even though it is sometimes good that they get some form of rest or they could push themselves past their limits and the consequences could be severe.

"And probably best to cut the poor guy some slack, taking the freedom away from a Hunter is very hard for them. And he was there when Cayde died," said Amanda

"I guess you're right, but I know the coping habits of Hunters in mourning all too well. And I will not approve of that," said Ikora

Guardians have many ways of coping with stressful situations and mourning the death of a friend. Warlocks mourn by meditating for long amounts of time, picking up a new hobby, or going out on patrol and shoot shit. Titans mourn by creating poems of their fallen comrades, traversing through the City interacting with the citizens, and very rarely, knitting. Hunters cope with death violently. These methods usually include drowning their pain in acholol, becoming more reckless than usual on the battlefield, or enter a deep sleep that sometimes leads to death.

"Yeah, but it is a hoot to see them drunk, you have to agree with that," chirped Amanda laughing at the thought.

Ikora remained silent, unamused by the quip. She remembers all of the times that she has seen Cadye and other Hunters drink themselves away until they're too focused on their hangover to think or focus on anything else.

"How long do you think we should give him to rest?" asked Ikora

"Let's say … a few days give or take," said Amanda

 **3 weeks later…**

"It has been weeks since that Guardian became the new Hunter Vanguard, where is he?" demanded Zavala

The old Tower has finally been rebuilt. It had been under reconstruction since the Red War ended and the Guardian base of operations had to be moved to a more suitable location since the Tower was a mess. So by default … the lower regions of the wall was the best option. Zavala and Ikora were in the Hall of the Guardians waiting for the New Hunter Vanguard to arrive.

"Ikora. Have you seen him?" asked Zavala

"No," she said

"Where on Earth could he be?" grumbled Zavala

The Titan Vanguard pondered this thought for a solid minute before a maintenance worker walked up to him telling him that there was someone on channel 7.08. Zavala's ghost appeared in a flash of light and split its pieces apart revealing its light and opening the channel's transmission.

"Receiving end. This is Commander Zavala of the Vanguard, state your name and business here in the City," demanded Zavala

"Commander Zavala," said a eerie voice, "This is Xur, an Agent of the Nine. I am in your Tower's Hangar, but I do not see any Guardians. They have not crowded me ever since I got here five minutes ago," said Xur.

The Titan Vanguard then remembered that the day was Friday. The day that the Agent of the Nine is scheduled to arrive at the Tower to sell exotic weapons to the Guardians in exchange for strange coins. He had completely forgotten to tell the Agent that they had moved back into their newly rebuild headquarters.

"Xur, Guardian occupation in the lower regions of the wall has ceased, we have relocated back to the old Tower. I apologize for not obliging this recent information to you causing this inconvenience," apologized Zavala

"I humbly accept your apology noble Titan. I shall make my way up to the Tower now," said the Agent of the Nine.

Zavala was about to end the conversation when he heard an atmosphere shaking noise from the other end. He was greatly perplexed by the sound. One of the maintenance workers said out loud, "Who's snoring?"

Ikora's head shot up when she heard the maintenance worker. She put down her mission manifest and strolled over to Zavala. Zavala was confused by Ikora's reaction to worker's comment on the strange sound coming from the continuing transmission.

"Impossible," said Ikora

"Ikora? What is wrong?" asked Zavala

"He cannot seriously still be asleep," she said in disbelief

"Ikora," said Zavala in a deep voice catching Ikora's attention.

"Yes?" she replied

"What is this noise you are intrigued by?" asked Zavala

"It's only a hunch," she looked at Zavala's ghost and cleared her throat, "Xur? Are you still there?" she asked

There was a slight pause on the transmission before Xur finally spoke, "Ikora Rey, what is the pleasure I owe to be speaking to the Warlock Vanguard?" said the Agent of the Nine politely

"I need to ask a favor of you," said Ikora

"Anything for the student of the infamous Osiris, what can I do for you?" asked the Agent of the Nine

"Could you check on a Guardian on the top level, I believe that noise is him," said Ikora

"I shall check on this noise you hear," said Xur ending the transmission

Ikora looked at Zavala that had a face of deep disapproval plastered on his face. Ikora smiled at the Titan Vanguard and walked back to her respective spot at the table resuming her revisions over a mission that a fireteam of warlocks had completed two hours go exterminating a Vex infestation near Asher-Mir's campsite.

 **The Tower, Hangar**

 _There I sat again, next to Cayde, with a gaping bullet hole in his chest. I held his hand close to my chest, never letting go. "You tell Zavala and Ikora … the Vanguard, that this is the best bet I've ever … lost." Then his eyes lost their glow and his head fell limp to his side._

" _Cayde…?" I asked, "No, no, no no no!" I cried cradling him in my arms. My tears falling against his forehead creating a pining echo._

" _Please man, don't go." I said, "I can fix you. It might take a while but I'll fix you. I'll fix up Sundance too. Don't worry, it'll be alright but you just gotta wake up Scraps, wake up." I shook him lightly, "C'mon Cayde, no more jokes, please."_

 _Then all of a sudden his hand grabbed my shoulder. I looked down at him and saw his eyes going again, but deathly red. I was a little shaken by this but was glad that he was alive. "Cayde?" I smiled_

" _You let me die Eleven, it should 've been you, not me, you," he said_

 _I then felt the barrel of a gun pushing against the back of my head. The feel of the barrel felt familiar. I turned around and saw Cayde towering over me with the Ace of Spades aimed at me. I tried to run away but I couldn't. I looked down at my person and saw myself in Cayde Vanguard armour, beaten up and weakened by the fight with the Scorn and their Barons. I looked up at Cayde as he spoke to me in my voice,_

" _Any last words?" he asked_

" _Cayde?"_

 **((((** ((( **BANG** ))) **))))**

 **Back in reality…**

I shot up from my bed panting heavily. My sheets were damp from my sweat, I wiped my brow with the back of my hand. Nine appeared in front of me in a flash of light. He looked at me with concern in his eye. I hugged my knees and rested my head against them breathing slowly, in hopes to calm myself.

"Same nightmare again?" Nine asked

"Yeah," I said in a dry tone

"Have some water, you've been asleep for three weeks," he said motioning to my night table where a glass of water rested. I took the glass and downed its contents in seconds. I didn't realize how thirsty I was until the water hit my lips, it was refreshing. I downed the contents in seconds appreciating the cool liquid flowing down my throat.

I looked around the room feeling like something was wrong, like something was out of place. "Nine, where am I?" I asked

"You don't remember, don't you," he said in a deadpan tone

"Don't remember wha- oh," I remembered.

I moved quarters so that I would be closer to Cayde's set up in the Hangar. I was currently in Cayde's room, how he slept or lived in here, I will probably never know in my goddamn eternal life.

The room smelled of chicken shit, gunpowder, and of the radiolarian soaked soil of Nessus. As much as these aromas were revolting to me (especially the chicken shit), it was nice in some strange way, to have another somewhat physical memory of my friend. There was a workbench on the far side of the room where multiple tools were scattered across the surface, along with bullet casings and the remains of Cayde's Ghost: _Sundance._

Before I went to sleep and having an enormous amount of booze that could kill a mortal man (sadly I'm not mortal so fuck berries), I put every bit of knowledge of mechanical engineering into fixing her. The new title of Hunter Vanguard could be damned to hell, there's only one Hunter Vanguard, and his name is Cayde-6.

There was an antique nightstand next to the bed with a picture of a blond Hunter and Cayde making peace signs while their lips were intertwined. In a damaged opened draw at the bottom of the nightstand was a treasure trove of torn out journal entries.

The room barely had any space to walk, everywhere you looked there were crates filled to the brim with munitions and weapons. There was Hakke, Suros, Omalon, and some custom made bullets infused with the Traveler's Light.

Known to the people of the City, it is illegal to possess any sort of weaponry that is made with the Light of the Traveler. This law was brought on by the uprising of New Monarchy against the Speaker (rest in peace old friend), when they used Light infused munitions against the Guardians, after that fiasco, companies that manufacture Light infused weapons were closed down cutting off the flow of Light infused weapons, it was common that some dark parts of the City still made these but were way too expensive for any mortal to purchase, so mainly Guardians used to buy them.

But when a Guardian by the name of _Dredgen Yor,_ the creator of _Thorn_ and the other weapons of Sorrow,started to tamper with these weapons and transform the Light into Darkness bringing upon the City the darkest threat ever in Vanguard history. After he and his cult, _The Shadow of Yor,_ were brought down by the renegade Hunter _Shin Malphur,_ the wielder of the _Last Word,_ all Light infused weaponry was outlawed and anyone that wielded such munitions was executed on the spot.

Everything here was mine. I didn't know what to think about sitting upon a pile of deadly weapons is a great blessing or a corruption waiting to happen. I started to get out of bed when Nine mentally alerted me of something. Hidden within one of Cayde's journals covers was a keycard. I picked up the journal and carefully tore open the cover to reveal the keycard.

It appeared to be City made, that's for sure but it didn't match anything that I've seen before. I had Nine run a deep search in the Vanguard database for what this keycard was meant for or created for. He came up with one file that was filled with information about the keycard, but it was labeled as classified and only Cayde had access to it.

 _Note to self, ask Zavala to take off the parental control on the file,_ I thought to myself.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. I snapped my attention to the sound and had Nine materialize the Ace of Spades into my hand. I slowly got out of bed and approached the door, careful not to step on anything the held any relation to a Lego brick.

I was about to open the door when Nine sent me a message mentally about my current appearance. I looked down and saw that I had a white T-shirt stained with machine oil and sweat, and Spider-Man boxers (Spider-Man lives forever!).

I smacked my forehead cursing myself for almost opening the door and scarring to poor fellow that stood outside. I sent Nine a mental image of my chosen armour, and in an instant, my bed clothing melted away being replaced with my armour. At least that's what I thought.

I opened the door to see that the person knocking at my door was none other than Xur. I almost forgot that this guy existed, I stopped visiting him for weapons since the news of Cayde got to him bumming him down, causing him to bring exotics that I already had in my arsenal.

"Ah, Guardian Eleven, it is you that is causing all of that noise," said Xur in his usual calm yet creepy voice, "And I see that you have assumed a new attire, I must say that I am impressed,"

"Thank you - wait what new attire?" I said as I looked down at my person.

Instead of Nine dressing me in my usual attire, he dressed me for my new job. I was dressed in an armour set called the _Vanguard Dare set._ It was similar to Cayde's original armour but clad with more armour plates and a darker color scheme. Adorned over the left side of the chest plate was a pattern similar to the one on Cayde's cloak. Under the left shoulder plate was a single spade. And patterned over the cuffs of the gloves were diamonds, both filled and hollow.

 _Goddamnit Nine,_ I thought

"Yeaah, so it seems," I said with a hint of hostility in my voice directed to the little light. "So wadda here for?"

"I was informed by the Vanguard that the old Tower has been reconstructed, and they have asked me to humbly inform you that they are expecting you there," said the Agent of the Nine

"Riiight … Fuck," I cursed under my breath, "I'll be up in a second,"

 **1 hour later…**

"Fucking Zavala, finishing reconstructing the fucking tower, just when I move into Cayde's fucking room. Good Traveler, I hate my fucking life." I grumbled as I marched up the stairwell. I feel like this is the Titan's way of revenge for me disobeying him.

"Nine, how much more levels of endless stairs do I have to go?" I asked the ghost

"Just take five more steps and you will be finished walking up the stairs," he said

"Oh, Jesus Christ, thank God!" I exhaled heavily, I was almost done.

 **Hall of the Guardians…**

"Where is he?" grumbled Zavala, starting to get impatient at the guardian's absence.

"I'm right here you big piece of smurf shit!" yelled a voice from across the hall.

The loud insult caught the attention of everyone in the room, especially Zavala. He looked up to see the colorful figure. He was wearing the Hunter Vanguard Dare armour with a flask attached to his belt (wonder who it could be?).

He approached the two vanguards in a drunken manner, with his hair covering his eyes and scruffy beard hiding his mouth. He looked them with an unreadable expression (mainly due to his facial hair) and sighed heavily.

"So … the hell do I do now?" he asked

 **It don't have time to explain what I don't have time to understand.**

 **I'm making the announcement that the new semester is a ass buster, I barely have time to write, I barely have time to play Destiny, and I'm falling out of interest with Adventure Time.**

 **And worst of all, I almost went blind writing a new story. My eyes are slowly degrading and I need to focus on getting them healed along with the hundred other problems wrong with me. So for now … I am taking a hiatus, I'm sorry to say so, but I need to get situated with my life and getting into college. For how long, I don't know but hopefully I will come up with a better end for this story and the Last Front.**

 **If you're looking for an amazing new story to read, go read Remanent of a Rose and Remanent of an Iron Rose made both by Ptabs0101. It is a crossover of Destiny and RWBY. Summer Rose is back as a Guardian and is sent back to Remanent through a Vex travel gate. She must defend Remanet from the Vex while discovering that she had a past life there, along with a family and a daughter that looks like her with silver eyes. Contains lots of cliffhangers, cookies, and lots and lots of PUNS!**

 **Please go support him and pray for him. He was recently diagnosed with cancer and has put his story up for adoption. I hate it people put their creations up for grabs and soon the one that takes it away butchers the pure image of the plot line.**

 **See you later Guardians and Javelins.**

 **T1m3fr3ak signing out ...**


	3. In the Shadows lie the Dredgens

**Cayde-6: Okay, here we go again, so t1m3fr3ak does not own Destiny. It belongs to its rightful creators Bungie, and ME! And nor the members of FireTeam Nero, they belong to Ptabs0101, except for Summer Rose, she belongs to Rooster Teeth.**

 **T1m3fr3ak: thank you Cayde, now on to the chapter, Yahoo!**

 **Chapter 3: In the Shadows lie the Dredgens**

 **15 years later…**

 **The Tower, Hall of Guardians…**

 _A Revelation_

 _So, now… the truth._

 _You've earned it._

 _My name is Shin Malphur._

 _My name is Zyre Orsa._

 _My name is Dredgen Vale._

 _And all who fall to Darkness will answer to my steel._

 _The Shadows. The Drifter's Gambit. The seeding of fear, that the infamous "Man with the Golden Gun" was on the hunt, blinded by allegiance to the Light and gunning for all who tempt the Darkness. A necessary deception. Offering two paths in order to draw out those eager for power beyond their means._

 _Malfeasance was a gift, a sample to gauge the true hearts of those who reveled in the Drifter's games. Those sated by its wicked power were kin enough to know their limits. Those hungry for more? A danger worth tracking. In some cases, a danger in need of confrontation._

 _But the game has only just begun, and I risk much like this here, me offering you the olive branch of truth and trust. Yes, I have led you to believe I was your friend and the Shadows my enemy and yours. If all I have just revealed calls that into question, know that it shouldn't. The Shadows are a danger. We are guided by the evolved and controlled methods of Dredgen Yor, except instead of death and destruction, I am offering the mysteries and powers of the Darkness as bait for those who would otherwise go freely into the abyss._

 _I have built the perfect trap with which to cull the weak-willed._

 _And it is working._

— _S._

 _ **For Every Rose, a Thorn - Revelations and Invitations**_

"Fireteam Nero. You still with us?" I asked into the coms

"Yes sir, we're still kicking," said Prometheus 23, the gentle Titan of Fireteam Nero responded

"Good, is the big bad dead yet?" I asked

"Yep, fucking roasted," said Lux Sylphid, the trashed mouthed sharpshooter Warlock of Fireteam Nero announced proudly.

"Brought out the Golden Gjallarhorn and then BOOM!" excitedly said Summer Rose, the hyperactive pun Hunter of Fireteam Nero, "We truly, _bought the heat,"_ said Summer cracking a pun earning a disapproving look from her teammates as they all had solar subclassed equipped.

I broke out into a fit of laughter after hearing her pun. Zavala and Ikora looked at me with the annoyed faces presented. "Good one Summer, you truly did a _number_ on him," I joked

"God fucking NOOO! SHUT UP, NO MORE! NO MORE! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! SUMMER IS ENOUGH, I CAN'T TAKE TWO PUN PEOPLE!" screamed Lux in outrage as I laughed.

"Good one Eleven, you are learning ancient one," said Summer

"Thank you, I think I would give it an _eleven out of twenty-three,_ " I laughed

"Please you two, enough with you terrible jokes," said Prometheus

"BITCH! Puns are Fabulous!" I yelled getting an aggressive no from the rest of the Vanguard.

"*sigh* … well done Fireteam, return back and we will discuss on your finds," said Zavala

"Alright Zavala, heading home no- wait," said Summer

I was about to take a swig from my flask when Summer announced her hesitation. I lowered from my lips and screwed the top back on. "Wait? What kinda wait are we talking about? Is it the: oh wait I forgot my pencil _wait?_ Or the, Oh shit something's happening kinda _wait_?" I asked

"The wait something's happening kinda: Oh shit," said Summer

"What's happening Fireteam?" asked Zavala

"My Thorn is tingling," said Summer

"Uhh," I said

"Put away that dirty mind of yours and shut the hell up!" shouted Lux over the coms

"I love this girl, why haven't we met before?" I said to the other Vanguard

"Eleven please, focus on the task at hand," pleaded Ikora

"Alright fine, you're all no fun," I grumbled under my breath

"Eleven!" said Zavala

"Fine! Fireteam Nero … fuck shit up, please," I said, "And Summer, blow something up please, make Cayde proud,"

"Yes sir!" she said cheerily

It was complete carnage on the other side. I could hear explosions (was that an explosion? Was it big? - Cayde 6). Screams echoed through the land. I was taken from my thoughts as I heard battle crying through the coms.

I thought back to the war on the Moon, as we fought for our bright glowing blue sun that orbited our home. The stories that us survivors of that hell hole told to the people of the City. Some of us became Legends … while some of us became _Dredgens._

I was taken out of my train of thought when an enemy on the coms shouted a word that would make any Guardians' blood freeze to below zero.

"Kill the Guardians brothers, we will make the Sol system know the name of _The Shadow of Yor_!" shouted the enemy

I could feel the Guardians of Fireteam Nero go blank, so as the Vanguard that stood next to me. We all remained frozen for a solid minute, that was all they needed to overpower Nero. I could barely hear the cannon fire that barked from the guns of the enemy, the pain filled screams of Fireteam Nero fill the coms, the fear-filled cries of Summer begging her teammates to get up but to no avail, they couldn't help her, she was the last one standing.

I was snapped from my trance when I heard the heavy steps approaching Summer Rose. I barked into the coms blindly hoping that the young Hunter will escape the clutches of the enemy. I was foolish to think that.

"Summer! Get you and your team out of there now!" I shouted

I could hear her scramble for her friends, trying to pull them away. Then there was a loud gunshot that deafened us for a moment. Following the gunshot was the pained scream of Summer as she fell to the ground. I was powerless to help her, all I could do was listen to her die. Tears started to flow freely from my eyes, Summer was Cayde's daughter figure and I promised myself that I would do everything in my earthly power and beyond this world to protect her. As here I was, listening to her in her final moments.

The footsteps stopped, then I could hear the figure crouch to Summer's level. I could hear her whimper as the figure finally spoke. "So you are the blood of the Gunslinger? Huh, I can't say that I'm disappointed, but I imagined you to be taller." said the figure. I was contemplating on what this figure was saying. All I knew was that she was female, and she was a bitch. "You will do to gain me the head of the _Shadow_ and take my rightful place in this world," said the female attacker. Then the familiar sound of Summer's Thorn being unholstered caught my hearing. There was a sudden struggle over the coms, I was on the edge of my mental seat biting the bottom of my lip in anticipation. Then there was the cocking of the hammer of Thron and the gasp of Summer.

"The tainted Rose? The very Rose that our very idol created and wield in the Dark Ages, and the one that murdered so many Risen. You are not worthy to hold such a sword. I, on the other hand, is a more suitable candidate. If it was up to my acquaintances, they would kill you on the spot. But you still have purpose Roseus," then the coms went silent.

The room was silent, no one dared say a word. We all believed that we have just lost one of our best fireteams to an ancient enemy. I fanned my sight to both Zavala and Ikora, they were in a state of shock at what just occurred. I clapped my hands together and pursed my lips together and nodded my head.

"Well then … that just happened." I said complementing Cayde's obliviousness.

They both looked at me with surprise and anger mixed into their faces. I pointed to the entrance to the Hall of Guardians and raised my right leg and announced, "I'll show myself out," and made my way to the Plaza.

"Eleven! Where are you going, we need you to scramble your best scouts to Dwindler's Ridge to find our missing fireteam," said Zavala

"Oh, I know … that's why I'm leaving. I'm too sober for this shit," I said

As I entered the Plaza and summoned Nine. "I know what you are thinking, and I am not entirely on board with it, but if the Darkness have truly taken these Guardians, and to make this one what to become the head of the _Shadow of Yor …_ I'll patch him in," said Nine

"Thanks," I said

"Also, don't ever pun again, I can only bare your duty with the Vanguard and your past time activities. But don't add being a punster to your portfolio." deadpanned Nine

"Yeah, I'm horrible with puns," I said

* * *

 **Later…**

There I was in a tavern in the dark side of the City, waiting for my *air-quote* friend. I had my hood pulled low over my face blocking out my facial features from prying eyes. I was looking at the shelves in front of me that held many varieties of alcohol liquor and booze. All of them smelling so appealing to me. I was about to raise my hand to gain the bartender's attention but a waitress placed a glass of amber liquid with a single spherical ice cube swimming in it.

"Oh, I didn't-" I went to say

"It's from the man upstairs, told me to give you anything on the bottom shelf and you'll take it. Lucky for you I gave you top," she said and gave me a wink.

I let out an audible chuckle and nodded to the waitress.

 _Sorry gal, but I'm already Taken._ I thought

I took a sip from the glass and let the cool liquid flow down my throat. I exhaled as I took the glass from my lips, I looked at it like it was some sort of exotic object. I then look at the second level of the tavern, thinking of the person that ordered the drink for me.

"Heh, you have some way of making an entrance Shin," I said to myself

I stood up from the table and made my way up to the second level to see a man dressed in Hunter armor, he wore a grey poncho that covered his upper torso, and strapped at his waist was a single hand cannon. It was beautifully designed, etched with gold and parts of it glowing a low bright green as the rest of it was black.

His features were sharp, almost hawk-like even, and his face was framed by red-tipped brown locks. However, the most noteworthy feature on his face was his silver eyes.

"Thanks for the drink," I said

"You fell to the temptations of the darkness, the man with the Golden Gun is coming for you," said Shin

"Well, then why in the fuck did the man with the Golden Gun buy me the drink in the first place?" I asked and downed the rest of the amber liquid.

I pulled out the chair on the opposite side of the table and flipped it around so that the back of it would be facing Shin. I shook the glass in a circle letting the ice ball clink against the walls of glass. I looked back at the man and asked.

"So do I get a refill?" I asked cheekily

"No," Shin deadpanned

"Goddammit!" I exclaimed and slammed the glass on the table

He looked up at me with a blank stare, "I don't think a Titan would be able to take the place of the Hunter Vanguard old friend," said Shin

"Well alcohol can do some weird shit to the mind, ya know," I said

"I don't think that you gave me a blacklist about Guardians that have strayed from the Light just to talk about alcohol," said Shin

My expression got serious and I looked at him with a dark expression. "The Dredgens are rising-" I said

"They've always been rising," growled Shin

"More than ever this time. They've captured a fireteam at Dwindler's Ridge," I said

"Then send a retrieval team, or better yet … why not go yourself," said Shin

"It was Fireteam Nero, Summer's Fireteam. Do you really want the only person that has somewhat of a blood relationship with you to die at the hands of a cult that worship the man who crafts the very weapon that she wields? Do you Shin? Or should I call you by your OTHER names? Maybe Zyer Orsa? Or Dredgen Vale?" I said as he shoots up from his seat and made a jab at my face. I quickly parried it away by slightly tapping the side of his fist causing it to fly past my head. He made another go at me with his other hand and grabbed my throat and I gripped his wrist and squeezed with all of my might, keeping him from destroying my wind-pipe. I threw his arm down to the table shaking the items laid upon it. He pointed his hand at me and spoke in a deep menacing voice that could rival the Spider's.

"Don't ever. Say. Those. Names. Ever. Again!"

"You didn't answer my question. Are you going to let the _Shadow of Yor_ kill her? Or are you going just going to fade into the dust again and disappear into dead history," I said

"..."

There was a long silence in the air. I've hit it home, the Renegade Gunslinger does have a heart again. His face was covered in a mask of deep thought, he and Summer were the only people left that bore the gift of the Traveler. I don't mean that they got their Light from the Ghosts, they got it directly from him, power sewen into the fabric of their irises. Summer died before she could awaken her gift, and Shin awakened his when his third father, his friend died at the hands of Dredgen Yor. They were the last of the Roseus lineage.

"You said that they were after me?" he asked breaking the long silence.

"Yes, the one that made their presence known to us was a female. She spoke in a tone that seemed to always have venom dripping from it, had one hell of an attitude, by the sounds of how she carried herself she sounded like she held herself with great pride, and the sound of her movement when she disarmed Summer she had the skills of a trickster. So my guess … a Titan turned Hunter," I shrugged

"Just like Yor," hissed Shin, "We need to get her out of there. FAST,"

"Yeah, I'd love to do so too but let's not forget that the _Shadow of Yor_ consists of hundreds of Dredgens. And not to mention that we're in the middle of the Season of the Drifter, so the _Shadow of Yor_ is getting new members flowing in by the boatload every day, so if we are planning to save Summer, it's going to be us against the world … almost literally!" I said

"Then we'll need some help from some of your … _friends,_ " Shin said saying the last word with unease (heh, _Last Word …_ get it? Come on some of you had to laugh? No? … you're all no fun)

"And the cause of these new Dredgens," I said

"Drifter?" said Shin

* * *

 **The next day …**

 **Shin's POV**

I walked down the hall of the Annex, passing by some Guardians that either went to visit Ada-1 or the Drifter. I took note of every Guardian that passed by me that came from the Drifter's flat as they stared at me with wonderous, and fear-filled looks that pierced through their helms. I knew that if any of them were Dredgens that they feared for their lives because they knew who I was: _The Man with the Golden Gun._ I entered the room and was welcomed by a crowd of Guardians getting contraband from the Drifter. I could hear his laughter from the sea of Guardians. I really didn't want to push my way through the crowd so I thought of a more … _direct_ approach.

I unholstered my late third father's cannon, _Last Word_ and thrust it into the air and let the power of Sol consume it and my person. The roaring of raging fire filled the air as the flames engulfed me and bathed the room in orange light, banishing the sickening light that emanated from the tank of Taken energy that is used in Gambit matches. _Last Word_ was then transformed into the Golden Gun and barked out the raging rounds of Sol into the ceiling.

Everyone jumped at the sound of the Golden Gun being fired. They all turned around and faced me with terrified looks, seeing me there in their presence, the Renegade Hunter, Shin Malphur. They all made their way out of the room in a hurry. Everyone left, but Drifter.

"Well well well. If it isn't the Gunslinger himself!" Drifter said in his wild gruff voice making him sound like he's a crazy man that has too many secrets and cannot be trusted (which he is), "What do I owe the pleasure-"

"Drop the formalities Dredgen. You know why I'm here." I said

"Well I can't say I exactly know what you mean old friend," he said leaning against the red railing taking out a jade green chip from his pocket with two snakes intertwined peeking their heads out from opposite sides. That is the usual chip that he uses for deciding what Guardians will be fighting in Gambit matches.

He started to flip it between his fingers like he's done it so many times before. He then flicked it into the air and let it fall to his boot as he kicked it up with his heel and caught it in his palm as he spun around on the ball of his heel. He looked at the chip and sighed then threw it away landing in the empty helmet of a Fallen captain with multiple other jade Gambit chips.

He looked back at me with a smug smile on his face. "So what do you think I know brotha?" he asked

I stormed over to him as the fires of Sol started to burn out on me returning me to normal. He saw this as a direct threat to him and tried to back up but stumbled over some objects in his vain attempt to escape. I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him down on one of his desks. He struggled against my grip but I stood strong. "I know you know!" I growled angrily, "About the Dredgens, the Shadows, Nero!"

"Wait! Nero? As in Fireteam Nero? Is that what this is all about?" he asked, I slammed him into the desk again.

"You know it is. You've given me the names of every Dredgen that has committed themselves to Yor and his dark path. But these ones you've not, which tells me that you are conspiring against me. I've known that you have been planning to kill me for a while but targeting my bloodline, that's where it ends," I said pulling out _Last Word_ and pressing the barrel of it against the base of his skull.

"Whoa whoa WHOA! Calm down man, can't we just, ya know, talk about this?" exclaimed Drifter clawing for anything that can save is skin.

"Give me the names of the Dredgens that took her and her teammates and the location, then I might consider letting you keep your Light," I growled as I rested my thumb on the smooth hammer of _Last Word._

"I can't do that, they'll kill me!" he said

"While I have you at the mercy of my cannon," I growled

"Listen, I'd love to help ya. That Summer gal is a real firecracker, she's a great friend, the only real friend that I've ever had come to think of it. But seriously, if they find out that I throw them to the thralls for you, they find a way to kill me, no matter if they're dead or not. That's a heavy decision if I do say so, what would be your choice?" he ranted

" _Your's. Not mine."_

I said and cocked the _Last Word's_ hammer and pressed it deeper into the base of his skull. I heard him give an audible gulp as he started to shake. I caressed the trigger gently and I steadied my breathing. Then he broke.

"Alright alright! I'll spill! I'll give you everything," yelled Drifter

I looked at him with a smile hidden under my helm. I pushed the hammer back into place and took my finger off of the trigger. I let go of him and backed up to allow him to stand again. He sighed and brushed himself of dirt on his trench coat. "You've just made me a dead man now more than ever,"

"You were always a dead man no matter what you did," I said as I heard the sound of someone making a mad sprint from the room's entrance. We both looked out to see a Warlock dressed in Ancient Apocalyptic armor shaded completely black.

"Well great, now they know that I'm a rat, thanks a lot. Ya snitch," Drifter hissed

I was about to draw _Last Word_ as the Dredgen made her way up the stairs to the Bazaar but was repeatedly shot in the head by a suppressed sidearm. She tumbled lifelessly to the bottom of the stairs as her ghost appeared. It looked frightened as a throwing pick that resembled a dart from _Thorn_ sucked the Light from it as it shattered its shell. It was a silent kill, and the Dredgen didn't even see it coming.

"I AM SO AWESOME." said a loud whisper from the top of the stairs. I knew who the voice belonged to as soon as it mentioned the word 'awesome'.

Eleven came down the stairs taking out a knife and started to heat it with Sol energy and threw it at the corpse of the Dredgen, disintegrating into embers. He looked at both of us and stretched his hands out.

"The hell did I say about quietly persuade him?" he exclaimed while he kicked the remains of the Ghost under the stairs.

"Hey hotshot," said the Drifter

"FUCK YOU!" Eleven shouted flipping him off

"You still haven't gotten over the whole _snitch_ thing, have yeah?" said the Drifter

"Hell no, I haven't gotten over that you mother fucker!" Eleven shouted

"Eleven … please can we stay on topic," I said

"Right. So Drifter, why don't you come with us, because we're going to have a long long chat pal," said Eleven possibly grinning maliciously underneath his helm thinking of many different ways to torture the poor bastard.

 **This is the start of an arc. Cayde will be resurrected soon, we just need to get some firepower that can lightly simulate a Darkness Zone in a place filled with Light.**

 **(slight crossover, my bad, just popped into my head)**


End file.
